WE NEED REIGN #2 Forecasting Reign
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
continuing our series on the KOG…one of the most important but one of the hardest to preach
we are quick to make institutional religions…we can grasp it…handle it…control it…KOG cannot be
Jesus talked more about the KOG than any other subject…still hard to grasp
after His RESS He spent 40 days preaching about it and they still could not understand it
we are going to have to think and concentrate b/c some of old ideas might be challenged
(ILL) Peanuts cartoon…Lucy and Linus at home…Lucy is looking out the window at a rainstorm…look at it rain, it might flood the whole Earth…no it won’t, b/c God promised in Genesis 9 that He would never flood the whole Earth and He gave the rainbow as a promise…boy, that takes a great load off my mind…sound theology has a way of doing that
sound theology is going to be needed as we talk about the reign of God
many believers have been confused about all of the inaccurate reign forecasts of theological scholars
go to a CHR bookstore or Google or social media and there are lots of predictions when the KOG is going to come…every year we get new forecasts and it has been happening for the last 2000 years…the date keeps getting missed
there is a mystery about the KOG and its relation to time and history…Jesus helps solve that mystery
GOD’S KINGDOM IS ETERNAL
it has always existed and it always will exist…the KOG will last forever
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
10 But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
the KOG has never been threatened and never will be…never destroyed…everyone ultimately is subject to KOG
God is King whether PPL like it or not and it is not dependent on someone’s belief
you can acknowledge Him as King but your acknowledgment does not make Him King
while the whole universe is under the KOG there is a right now an invitation from God to willingly accept His rule
2/15/2023…it is a unique day…today everyone is given the chance to accept God’s invitation
GOD’S KINGDOM WAS INAUGURATED AT THE BIRTH OF JESUS
Jesus was born a King…His birth did not bring the KOG into existence but it brought it within the reach of man Good news is here…the KOG is near…the reign of God is available to all PPL
Jesus cast out some demons…it is only by the power of Satan that He can do that
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
He presented His life as proof that the KOG was available to PPL
His death made it possible that PPL could enter the KOG
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
if PPL tell you that one day the KOG is coming and that one day you can enter into it, they are mistaken…it is here now
nothing made Jesus madder than preventing PPL from entering the KOG
the worst violators were religious leaders…they like religion to be institutional so they can call the shots
you can’t call the shots b/c you are not on the throne
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
no worst crime than when we set up so many rules and traditions that keeps PPL from entering the KOG
you might be asking a good question…you say that the KOG is here now but I have always heard that it has not come yet…if the KOG is here then why is there so much evil in the world…that is the mystery of the KOG
GOD’S KINGDOM WILL BE CONSUMMATED AT THE RETURN OF JESUS
this time of history is called THE PRESENT EVIL AGE
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Satan is the god of this age…this present evil age is ruled by Satan
we will never experience the full blessing of KOG right now…we can enter the KOG and we can taste it but it is not here completely…other places say we will inherit the KOG…our bodies are corruptible and KOG is not
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
you can taste it and enjoy it but not fully until we get rid of this old body
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,
11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
we live in a present evil age…even though this world is evil we have tasted the KOG and it is coming fully
soon one day this evil age will be swallowed up and everyone will see where history has always been headed…God’s perfect reign over everything…there is coming a day when everyone will see what we already see
23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.
28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
isn’t God already supreme but the world doesn’t seem to know it…they will then Christ will conquer every enemy…hand the KING back to God…and everyone will know who is the King
the coming of Jesus will make God’s rule visible what we already know is true…OUR GOD REIGNS
The coming of Jesus will close the opportunity to enter the KOG in this present age
God has given PPL the chance to accept His gracious rule
all that reject that offer in the age to come will be assigned to a place where they will be free from the rule of God that place is called Hell…it is a place where rebellious PPL and angels will spend eternity where personal sovereignty is normal…selfishness will be king and normal…no gracious rule of God…PPL will do what they want
it is possible to taste Heaven now and possible to taste Hell now…we have Hell here on Earth right now we all get to taste what tomorrow will be like…but when is that tomorrow going to come…the answer is nobody knows
if anyone tells you they do know then they are mistaken…no one knows except God
I am not on the planning committee for the coming of Jesus but I will be on the welcoming committee
there is plenty of room for you to be on that committee
the KOG is open to all PPL right now but one day that invitation will be closed
there will be a RESS one day and we will enter in to the fullness of the KOG but that will also mean that the invitation will no longer be available that is the mystery of the KING and when we embrace it 3 powerful things happen
WE MUST REFUSE TO LOSE HOPE WHILE DEALING WITH THIS WORLD
God is allowing temporarily open rebellion to His reign
everyday it seems like God may not be in control…one day God will obliterate every rebellion to His rule this can cause confusion…Jesus is King…God is reigning…evil is still here…that is the mystery of the KOG
the KOG has come with Jesus but it has not fully come as an irresistible power but it will one day
the KOG is like leaven in bread…a mustard seed…it might be little but it really is here
Jesus wants us to believe with all of our heart that KOG is here in spite all of all the evil around you do not give up hope…the KOG is here…you can enter it and enjoy it…it will win
(ILL) 1994 documentary about D-Day…interviewed soldiers…stormed Normandy…1 soldier stormed the beach what were you thinking - there was no way we could possibly win…1 soldier that was a pilot providing cover what were you thinking - no way we could possibly lose
Jesus wants us to look at this world from above…it looks bad right now but there is no way the KOG will lose do not lose hope…do not despair…it will win the day…this will not last
WE MUST CHOOSE TO LIVE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD
Jesus does not want us to live in secluded clubs while we wait for His coming
He wants us to engage the world but not get entangled in it…this is a tension we must live with
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
We are not called to live in secluded clubs…we are to engage this world that we are not part of…advance the KOG
we recognize evil is all over this world…we do not cower…hide out…not intimidated…we are the PPL of God…we will take the good news to all the world
We forget our primary citizenship…we do not get our ID from this nation…we are not Americans that are CHR…we are CHR that live in America…no kingdom on Earth has first claim on you the KOG is our country…this world is not my home…our first claim is the KOG…it tells us who we are and what we are about…we do not wait to enjoy the KOG we live in it right now
WE MUST LOSE OUR LIVES AS WE PURSUE GOD
we cannot see the KOG but we believe it so much that we tie our lives to it
Jesus is only looking for one thing from us…Did you seek first the KOG
SING - SEEK YE FIRST…you can sing the song but can you do it…is the KOG first in your life or not
God did not create you to pursue your kingdom but to pursue His…seek first the KOG
(ILL) Ziden and Helen Nutt…make filmstrips for missionaries…turned into online videos that are still being used…they were visiting India…it is illegal for a CHR to initiate a conversation about Jesus but the common person can start the conversation and then you can talk about your faith…videos are all over the place…there was a woman that became a CHR b/c of the filmstrip…she went to go see the Nutts in their hotel…knock on the door…she wanted to say thank you for the One true God…she cannot walk…wheelchair broke…she crawled several miles…elevator was broken…she pulled her body 3 flights of stairs to just say thank you for finding God
she is not much in the eyes of the world but she is much to God